The Games We Play
by mychakk
Summary: Seeing Booth's lost look after he wakes up confused from his coma, Brennan impulsively sustain one delusion from his dream. And no, it's not about them owning a nightclub. But what will Booth do, when his memory returns? AU post season 4.
1. Part One

**Title: The Games We Play  
****Characters/Pairings: **all/canon couples  
**Genre: **Romance/ Humor/tiny bit of Drama/Angst?  
**Warnings: spoilers for ALL AIRED episodes  
****Episode: 4x26 The End in the Beginning  
****Rating: **T  
**Chapters: **1/10  
**Status: **WIP

**Disclaimer****: **I don't own Bones nor the characters. Just playing with them

**Summary: **Seeing Booth's lost look after he wakes up confused from his coma, Brennan impulsively sustain one delusion from his dream. And no, it's not about them owning a nightclub. But what will Booth do, when his memory returns? AU post season 4.

**AN: **_Before _FaithinBones_ had started posting her story Soul Mates I've come with an idea for a what-if scenario post-season 4 finale. There might be some similarities but they are unintentional and a pure coincidence. I've written over 8000 words last year, then put the story away to focus more on _Someone To Live For_. I decided to pick it up and post for all of you. It should be around 10 chapters long max. I'll be updating it every two weeks. _

**Dedication**_**: **__To every person who has reviewed my story _Someone To Live For_, especially to those who posted their thoughts on chapter 21__st__. THANK YOU ALL!_

_Now, enjoy!_

**Xxx**

**Part One **

**In Which He Wakes Up**

**xxx**

Temperance Brennan was sitting in the hospital room, working on her laptop. It's been four days since that awful, terrifying afternoon when Booth started talking to an imagined cartoon character. The diagnosis of his brain tumor made her insides chill. _This was not happening!_ was running through her head over and over again, as she tried to stay calm for him and their friends.

The hours she has spent in the operating room were the longest and scariest moments of her life. She could have lost him. She could have _really_ _lost_ him. But thankfully, the operation has been a success. Everything went fine, the tumor was removed without any additional complications, and Booth was put in the recovery room, while they have waited for him to wake up.

But he had not.

Not that first day, neither the next one, nor the third. And all she could do was sit in the room with him, waiting, everything else in the world be damned. He needed her. And nothing, _nothing_, would take her from his bedside.

To make the time pass more quickly, Brennan had plotted a story. She turned on her laptop and started writing it while telling it to Booth aloud. It was a different kind of story than her usual one about Kathy and Andy. This one was about them: her and Booth as club owners, with all their friends, with all their support net… with all their love.

Their love.

She made herself and Booth in love with each other; and married. Happily.

A fuzzy feeling swirled in her stomach as she wrote the scenes of love-making, kisses and pure joy at spending time together. For the first time she allowed herself to dream openly of the what-if. She didn't care for who might hear it as she has been describing aloud. And no one really did, only Booth who was there with her, but she _did_ want to tell _him_ this story.

She was just finishing the last part. The one where she revealed to her husband that she was pregnant; the part when he basked in the pure joy of becoming a father, the part when she was as happy as he.

It was in that moment that she has heard his groan.

Looking up startled, she saved the story, and put away her laptop, stepping closer to Booth's bedside.

"Such a weird dream." Booth mumbled, his eyes fluttering.

Brennan leaned over him, a hopeful look on her face. "Booth? Booth! You're awake!" she said happily.

But Booth didn't seem to hear her, still lost in the last whims of his dream. "So real." He said, dreamily.

All Brennan could feel was relief. He was awake! His eyes were open and he was talking to her! She babbled to him, not really paying attention to what she was saying. "Your operation was a success, but you reacted poorly to the anesthesia." Tears filled the corners of her eyes. "You've been in a coma for the past four days. What took you so long to wake up?" she asked him, her fear and relief mixing together.

But Booth was still not exactly there with her. "It felt so real." He repeated.

Finally Brennan heard what he was saying. "It wasn't real." She told him soothingly.

Booth, as if noticing her for the first time, looked back at her, his eyes confused. "Who are you?"

Taken aback, Brennan's face crumbled. What? No… no, no, no, no, _no_! This was _not_ happening.

"What do you mean, who am I?" she asked him, her voice trembling. "Don't you remember me?"

"I…" he closed his eyes then looked back at her. "Bren?"

Brennan sucked breath in. "I-" she stopped, as the story she has been telling him for the past four days flashed in her mind.

"What time is it?" Booth asked, looking around him. "Where am I? The nightclub…?" he mumbled, as if trying to comprehend what was happening.

Brennan took a deep breath, her hand going to his. "Booth." She told him firmly. "We don't own a nightclub." She stared deeply into his eyes.

This has caught his attention and he focused on her. "What? Don't be silly, we do." He told her as firmly as she did a moment before.

She shook her head. "No, you are not a club owner, you are an FBI Agent." She explained.

Booth denied, shaking his head, his voice a little panicky. "No, you're wrong. You and me own a nightclub called The Lab." He insisted.

Brennan barely stopped a sigh. "No, Booth, I _work_ at the Lab, at the _Medico-Legal Lab_ of the Jeffersonian, I'm a Forensic Anthropologist." She told him. "And you are an FBI Agent. My partner. We work together."

Booth's face crumbled. "We- we're not club owners?" he asked in a small voice that made Brennan's heart clench. Suddenly his hand grabbed hers in return, his grip tight, as he looked back at her. "But, Bren. Bren, you are my wife, right? You are? And you are pregnant, right?"

Brennan paled, flinching. "I'm not pregnant." She whispered with her voice choking.

"You… you're not…" The pure disappointment and hurt she saw on his face and in his eyes crushed her heart. She felt his hand squeeze hers even more tightly, the desperation clearly visible in his eyes as he looked at her, pleadingly; clinging to the last rope of his sanity. "But you are my wife, right? Bren, you _are_?"

And as she opened her mouth to deny him the last part of his dreamed up world – the one she wrote about and told him about – her eyes focused one more time on his. She paused, staring into his wide, hurt – and, oh, so familiar and _dear _– pools of brown. Transfixed – and despite her ealrler resolve – all she could say to him was nothing else, but the quiet, whispered: "Yes."

**Xxx**

**End of Part One**

**Xxx**

**AN 2:**_ Let me know if you can see Brennan doing it this way. Are you curious how it all plays out? I hope so, as want to invite you all in two weeks for ext update: _Part Two in Which She Is Swept of Her Feet**.**

_Reviews make my day! *hint hint* :)_


	2. Part Two

**Title: The Games We Play  
****Characters/Pairings: **all/canon couples  
**Genre: **Romance/ Humor/tiny bit of Drama/Angst?  
**Warnings: spoilers for ALL AIRED episodes  
****Episode: 4x26 The End in the Beginning  
****Rating: **T  
**Chapters: **1/10  
**Status: **WIP

**Disclaimer****: **I don't own Bones nor the characters. Just playing with them

**Summary: **Seeing Booth's lost look after he wakes up confused from his coma, Brennan impulsively sustain one delusion from his dream. And no, it's not about them owning a nightclub. But what will Booth do, when his memory returns? AU post season 4.

**Dedication**_**: **__To every person who has reviewed my story _Someone To Live For_. THANK YOU ALL!_

**AN: **_OK, so you, my Dear Readers, managed to bribe me to post a new chapter a week earlier. When the first reviewer asked me about this, I set myself a "bribable amount" …which you have reached over the first twenty-four hours… So yeah, here is the next part. _

_Now, enjoy!_

**Xxx**

**Part Two**

**In Which She Is Swept Of Her Feet**

**xxx**

The next few hours were erratic, the doctors came and probed and tested Booth, then they took him for some more testes and probing, and said he needs to spend a few more nights at the hospital, before he can be released. She knew she should call their friends with the good news about him finally waking up but could not bring herself to do it right now. She has told him she was _his wife_. What was she thinking?! And what would they do if this comes out? So she waited until the doctors finished their testing, putting off the dreaded assault of their happy but concerned friends and family. Finally she and Booth were left alone.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Good, I guess." He told her, smiling openly at her. "Considering everything."

Brennan flushed. He gave her such a loving, _pure of happiness _smile, it took her breath away. She _dreamed_ of those smiles. And now she finally had one directed at her.

"Tell me about our work." He asked her, taking her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. There was an air of content and security when she was with him. She saw the anxious looks he sent every way as the doctors were wheeling him over the hospital for the testing. But the moment he saw her, he calmed. She felt oddly humbled by this reaction.

She stared at their hands for a moment then looked up at him. His eyes were bright, his face open, trusting. And she squashed the raising feeling of guilt. She could not take this security blanket from him now, not when his memories were still gone. But she _could_ help him regain them.

"Ok." She nodded. "Like I told you before I work as a Forensic Anthropologist. I examine human remains, preferably the skeleton, and find out the cause of death and all additional information about the victims."

"Oh, that sounds… gross." He grimaces at her. "You really do that?"

"Well, you are not a fan of the remains." She told him matter-of-factly.

"I bet so." He smiled. "So how did I end up as an FBI Agent?"

"When you retired from the Army, you wanted to do something meaningful, and you applied to the Agency. I did not know you back then, we met five years ago, when you needed my help." She opted to tell the truth as much as she could. The less detail, the less possibility her lie would be caught right?

"Did we get along?" he asked with a smile, squeezing her hand.

She bit her lip. "No. We had an argument and didn't speak for the next year, until you needed my help again. Since then… since then we were together." She finished, lamely. But it was the truth – they were together since then, only as partners and nothing more, but still it was the truth – and so she took some comfort in this fact.

He nodded at her. "Yeah, it makes sense with the little bits of my memories that has been coming up."

She straightened eagerly. "You remember something?" she leaned into him, watching his face anxiously.

He smiled mischievously. "I remember kissing you in the rain." He told her.

Brennan flushed then smiled. "It was a great kiss."

"We can out do it." He told her, winking.

Brennan's breath quickened as she stared at him, surprised.

"Can I have a kiss from my wife now?" he asked her with a smile.

She nodded, licking her lips subconsciously. She should kiss him, right? She was supposed to be his wife after all. She leaned over him, her eyes locked with his, as she neared her face to plant her lips on his. Their eyes closed on their own as their mouths touched. It was a sweet kiss that made her whole body tingle. She could not stop the sigh that escaped her lips when his hand that was not clasping hers, sneaked behind her head, fingers sneaking into her hair.

"I see my patient is all better now." A voice startled them. Brennan quickly stepped from Booth, but _her supposed husband_ had a big smile on his face, his hand still holding hers.

A nurse stood in the door, a tray of food in her hands. "Here you go, your lunch." She smiled sternly, but her eyes were twinkling.

"A pudding!" Booth called happily, making Brennan laugh involuntarily even if a little nervously.

"You do love your pudding." She said, relieved. Some things never change.

"Not as much as you." He shot back.

She flushed again, but couldn't stop the small smile gracing her lips. The nurse left them alone and Brennan took her place on Booth's bed. They talked over Booth's meal with him telling Brennan about the snippets of his memories and her filling in the gaps with more details.

"What? Hodgins is a bug and slime guy?" he asked laughing. "I thought he was a writer!"

"He isn't, he's a great scientist. I write." She told him, her chin raised up slightly.

"You do?" he blinked at her.

She nodded then shrugged. "The best-selling author."

He got a far-away look then a slow smile appeared on his face. "Yeah. And I'm Andy!" he told her.

"You're _not_ Andy!" she protested in a jerk-like response.

But Booth just smiled at her knowingly. "I am, I'm your husband and your partner and he's the partner of your heroine." He pointed out triumphantly.

Brennan was about to argue but stopped hearing the husband comment. "I suppose if you put it that way…" she nodded reluctantly.

He only laughed. "Tell me more about the people at the Lab."

So she did and he listened and stared at her confused and disbelievingly, and shook his head amusingly, but essentially took it all in stride. Suddenly, he laughed happily.

She stopped talking and looked at him confused.

"I love how focused and excited you get when you work on our cases." He clarified.

She frowned. "How do you now if you don't remember?"

He shrugged, this open, happy smile still on his face. "I don't have to remember, the feeling I have here" he thumbed his chest "is enough."

Brennan looked down, shyly, her insides twisting pleasantly. But the pure admiration in his look was too much for her right now.

"Bren?" he called her, his voice slightly worried.

She looked up and tried to smile.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, the smile gone from his lips.

She felt a pang at the loss, but then panicked not sure what to tell him. "I guess I'm worried." She finally settled for the vague truth.

"Don't be. Everything will be fine." He patted her hand. "My memory seems to be returning and with you beside me, I'm sure everything will be fine."

She nodded and noticing his yawn, said. "You should try to get some sleep."

"I was asleep for the past four days." He complained.

She rolled her eyes at him in exasperation. "You were in a coma. It's hardly a peaceful sleeping."

"If you says so." He told her cheekily.

She shook her head, and got up to help him with his pillow as he laid down to get more comfortable. Their eyes locked and he smiled at her.

"I love you, Bren" he told her.

Her breath hitched and she stared into his eyes, standing motionless, transfixed by the pure emotions she could see there. Impulsively, she leaned down and kissed him.

"Sleep." She told him and watched his face as his breathing evened.

This was such a mess.

**xxx**

Brennan made a few calls while Booth slept. First she called Cam to tell her Booth woke up and to ask for some time off. Cam was surprised that she wanted to take the rest of the month off, it was after all over _two_ weeks, but Booth's health was more important to Brennan. The Forensic Anthropologist needed to make sure everything was well with him, and that no one will tell him about her _not_ being his wife. She didn't want to add any more stress to his fragile state of mind at the moment.

The next call she made was to Rebecca. She explained what has happened, and together the women agreed that neither the father nor the son are ready for a meeting yet. Brennan promised to keep Rebecca informed and eventually to arrange a meeting with Parker.

Lastly, Brennan called Angela, but the Artist was on her way to hospital, so Brennan decided to wait for her.

"How are you?" Angela asked her as soon as she entered. They huddled in the corner of Booth's room, so they wouldn't disturb the man in his sleep.

"Alright, I guess." Brennan shrugged not really looking at her best friend.

But Angela knew her, and she was not fooled. "You guess, what's going on Bren?" she asked, leaning forward.

Brennan was quiet for a moment then looked up at her best friend. "Booth has some memory confusion."

"What?" Angela jerked back. "What do you mean, _confusion_? Doesn't he remember?"

"He dreamed up a different kind of reality, the one I've been telling him while he was in coma, and now he thinks it's his reality." Brennan explained, looking back at Booth, as he slept unaware of everything around them.

Angela's eyes followed her gaze. "Oh, he must feel really lost." She said sympathetically.

"He's doing better than I thought, I was telling him about all the people we work with, and it was kind of amusing to him, to learn how different it's from his memory." She sighed and looked back at Angela. "He gets the real memories too, so we've been talking about those as well. I think… I think he'll be fine." She finally said, trying to be hopeful.

Angela patted her arm, reassuringly. "I'm sure he will, he has you, Bren." She smiled.

Brennan smiled at her best friend too, feeling Angela might be right. He had her and she won't be leaving him.

**Xxx**

**End of Part Two**

**Xxx**

**AN 2:**_ I am overwhelmed by your enthusiastic response to this plotline – despite the apprehension the idea raised in some of you. Thank you so much for the support. It means a lot. I want to invite you all in two weeks for the next update: _Part Three In Which He Remembers. _This time the "bribable amount" is __much__ higher :P so I don't plan to post earlier ;)_

_Once again thank you for all the encouraging words. _

_Reviews make my day! *hint hint* :)_


	3. Part Three

**Title: The Games We Play  
****Characters/Pairings: **all/canon couples  
**Genre: **Romance/ Humor/tiny bit of Drama/Angst?  
**Warnings: spoilers for ALL AIRED episodes  
****Episode: 4x26 The End in the Beginning  
****Rating: **T  
**Chapters: 3**/10  
**Status: **WIP

**Disclaimer****: **I don't own Bones nor the characters. Just playing with them

**Summary: **Seeing Booth's lost look after he wakes up confused from his coma, Brennan impulsively sustain one delusion from his dream. And no, it's not about them owning a nightclub. But what will Booth do, when his memory returns? AU post season 4.

**Dedication**_**: **__To every person who has reviewed my story _Someone To Live For_. THANK YOU ALL!_

**AN: **_Sorry for the delay, I've een sick the past two week, and I couldn't even take a sick leave at work before my vacation time… The most hectic and awful week in recent months… Someone To Live For is being updated at the moment. And it's a double one too, so read and review! _

_Now, onto the chapter!_

**Xxx**

**Part Three**

**In Which He Remembers**

**xxx**

The next couple of days were a blur of familiar faces that were right yet not exactly _right_. Booth got visitors after visitors, people he recognized but who were something _else_ than what he expected them to be. It was both amusing and well, _freaking_ in a way.

For example he was really surprised to see the genuine concern in Cam's eyes. Were they really _that_ close? She was just his brother's partner. But yet, clearly, she was not. Turns out they had not only an affair once, but _twice_. It was mindboggling. And she was Bren's boss. At the Lab. Not the nightclub, but the Medico-Legal Lab of the Jeffersonian Institute, a real one. Mindboggling. But before he could get even more confused with the timeline, the pretty woman was called to the said Lab about some experiment that went wrong and left with an apologetic smile.

The next one to visit him was Sweets. His bartender, who actually was his psychologist. How come he became a patient of a twelve-years-old? But Bren was even more disdainful about the whole affair then he, and in the end he found it all more amusing than confusing. He and his wife had a lot of fun teasing the kid after all. But despite giving the poor guy a hard time, he could tell Bren really cared for him. Like a Mother Duck. He grimaced. Where did _that_ thought come from? But he knew she did care for the kid and he had to admit it he did a little bit too.

The most surprising was the visit from Jack Hodgins. He had a vague idea of an angry, brooding, conspiracy-loving writer. But turns out Hodgins was a kinda easygoing, happy (he had a vague idea that _mad_ should be added there too) scientist. The bug and slime guy! He called him out of the blue making the shorter man bark a surprised laugh at this and Booth could see the sincere affection in the man's eyes. Bren proudly explained what Dr. Hodgins did, and Booth could tell there was a genuine friendship between the two. He was glad. He liked that Bren had friends in her working place.

Angela …was Angela. The same affectionate woman he remembered. Turns out she _was_ an Artist after all and liked to call him Agent Studly. He blushed faintly at this and sputtered a little, but one look at Bren told him it must have been a common occurrence, for she did not even flinch at the nickname.

While all their friends visited him, Booth worried about his wife. He could tell that through all the visits she was tense and jumpy. She smiled, but he saw that the smile often did not reach her eyes. Something worried her, he could tell. He might have a reality confusion, but he _knew_ his wife. She was the same woman in his dream and in his real life.

"Bren?" he called her, after the 'squinterns' as he recalled calling them has left. It was a loud squad of young cheery and genuine people that he remembered working at their night club but that turned out to be students of his brilliant wife.

"Yes, Booth?" she asked him, sitting next to his bed.

He intertwined his fingers with hers automatically. She was sitting far away from him to do so during the visits and he found himself missing the physical contact.

"Is everything alright?" he asked her worried.

Her eyes flickered, but then returned to his. "Yes, why wouldn't it be?"

He cocked his head, squeezing her hand with his. "You seem tense."

"I'm not." She shot back.

He gave her a look. "Bren…"

"I'm alright, Booth." She told him empathically.

He just shook his head. "You are a bad liar you know?" he looked at her with a small smile.

"So you tell me." She smiled back.

He grew serious. "So don't lie. Now, what's wrong?" he asked her again, looking at her face more closely.

"I... they… ah, I can't-" she _stammered_ and he _knew_ this was something very unusual.

"Bren!" he straightened, leaning closer. "What's. Wrong."

"They don't know we're married!" she blurted, eyes wide before she looked down.

He blinked.

Then blinked again.

"What? Why?" he asked confused.

She looked around his room. "Ah, yes… we… we work together. Yes! We work together" she looked back at him. "And there is a fraternization clause at the FBI. Agents cannot be involved with each other or with the consultants." She explained.

Booth frowned, trying to understand what she just told him. "So we have …this hidden marriage?"

Bren nodded at him. "Well, yes."

"And how we do it? Don't we live together?" he asked, truly perplexed now.

Her eyes widened. "We do! We just, well we just alternate between our places. We spend some time at my place and then at yours to keep the pretences." She told him, and looked down once more, her shoulders tense.

He was deep in thought.

Finally he nodded. "Yes… I do seem to have memories of us spending time together at two different places. Movie watching, Thai meals, your mac and cheese." He got a dreamy look on his face at the last one.

Bren laughed a shaky, relieved laugh. "You love my mac and cheese."

He smiled hearing her laugh. "I know I do."

She glanced at her surprised. "How come? Do you remember something else?"

"No. It's just a feeling I have." He shrugged. "And you have to make me some when I get out of here, the food here sucks." He complained good-naturedly.

Bren straightened. "It's well balanced." She told him.

He scoffed. "It's boring."

"It's good for your health." She reprimanded him.

"I only enjoy the pudding." He pouted at her.

She rolled her eyes. "You always enjoy pudding."

He frowned. "Do we always bicker like that?"

She blinked. "We do discuss our different views on different topics. We seem to enjoy it."

He thought hard. "Yes, I guess we do." He smiled, feeling wicked suddenly. "But you know what is even more enjoyable?"

She looked warily at him. "What?"

"Kissing you." He noticed her eyes widening briefly again, but dismissed it, because the next second she was smirking sexily.

"It's hard to argue with that point." She told him in a husky voice.

And he pulled her to him, his lips meeting hers.

**xxx**

Booth woke up slowly from his nap. His eyes were still closed, as he listened to the sounds around him. He could hear Bones talking softly to someone. Then he heard a reply. Angela. She was talking with Angela about their latest case and about the Lab and how they all been doing for the past day since the Artist's last visit.

He smiled softly, Bones really couldn't stay away from work for long, even if she tried. She just needed to be informed about every little detail no matter what. But that was his Bon-

His eyes opened up widely, as he froze in shock. Bones. He's been calling her Bones. He remembered. She's Bones, his partner and his best friend. He remembered the past, the _real_ past, everything has returned to him. She's Bones and not the dreamed up Bren.

Bren. His wife.

His ears started ringing.

Bones pretended to be his _wife_! His breathing accelerated. She told him they were married!

He frowned. But why?

And most importantly, what should he do about it now?

He recalled the dream and how liberating and wonderful it was to be free in showing his affection to the woman he loved. Then he recalled the morning after he woke up and the following couple of days. She was pretending but at the same time taking care of him. And _kissing_ him. On her own. And she flushed prettily whenever he paid her a compliment; and she allowed him to smile and joke and simply stare adoringly at her. She was so patient. And natural in her role as his wife. And he fell in love with her all over again.

How could he let it _go_?

And now it was over. Because he _remembered_. He felt a pang of devastating loss.

How could he _let_ it go?

He didn't- couldn't really- but-

He wasn't sure what he should do.

If he tells her, everything will return to the way it has been before his operation. His heart squeezed with disappointment at the inevitable loss. He didn't want things to be as they had been before. He liked Bones as his wife. Even if a _pretended_ one.

He… but he could _keep up_ with the pretend. He doesn't have to tell her he remembered, right? At least for a while. He can still be confused and have her doting on him. And smile at him, and _kiss _him. He really got addicted to her kisses now.

The reason ad well, his upbringing, dictated he comes out clean. That he should tell her the truth the moment she notices he's awake. He should-

Bones laughed at something Angela has said and he felt a pang of longing in his chest. Bones has been laughing like that with him for the past few days. How _could_ he let it go?

The thing is – he _couldn't_.

And besides, he was a rebel.

He was going to pretend as well. For a while. Because having Bones as his wife was a dream come true, and if he could have her as his wife even if only for a little while, he's willing to risk it.

Risk it all for _them_.

**xxx**

**End of Part Three**

**Xxx**

**AN 2:**_ah, So we have seen Brennan acting on her _GUT_ instinct and we've seen Booth trying to _rationalize._ And well, as you can see, the game is __on!__ :P I'll see ya on two weeks with _Part Four In Which They Try To Make It Work

_Once again thank you for all the encouraging words. _

_Reviews make my day! *hint hint* :)_


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